I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector strip for assembling a building block wall assembly, and to the method of assembling the block wall utilizing such strip.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, it is known to assemble a building block wall assembly utilizing a spacer strip positioned between the edge surfaces of adjacently positioned blocks and between the opposite or flat faces of successive rows of such blocks to form the wall. An example of such a spacer fabricating device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,384 dated Jun. 20, 1978 issued to Daniel A. Zarrielo. The fabricating device of this patent is an elongated corrugated cardboard strip having upper and lower surfaces thereof coated with a tar composition. The strips are positioned between tiers of building blocks and between the edge surfaces of adjoining blocks. The strips are mounted to the respective blocks by means of engagement of the tar surfaces of the strips to the adjacent surfaces of the blocks. Specifically, by pressing the blocks into the tar composition on the surfaces of the associated strips, it is possible to align the adjacently positioned blocks and the successive rows or tiers of such blocks to form a wall assembly.
The strips have a width less than the width of the building blocks to which said strips are respectively mounted to form a groove or channel between the outer edges of adjacently located blocks. A mortar composition is then filled within such grooves to anchor the blocks and connector strips in place.
While the fabricating device of the '384 patent satisfactorily performs its intended function for building a wall of cinder blocks, there arises a need to improve upon such fabricating device when assembling a wall of glass blocks. Glass blocks are molded in various sizes and shapes and are of styles such as available from Pittsburgh Corning Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15239, U.S.A. Typical of such styles is a 6 inch (15.24 cm) square block having a thickness of 3.875 inches (9.84 cm). As part of the molding process, the blocks are formed each having a centrally located ridge extending peripherally around the outer edge surfaces thereof.
Utilizing the fabricating device of the '384 patent to glass blocks of the kind described above does not prove entirely satisfactorily in view of the ridge formed on the edge surfaces of the block. That is, the relatively flat surfaces of the corrugated cardboard strip do not lend themselves to providing a secure mounting arrangement to the outer edge surfaces of the glass blocks. This, in turn, prevents an accurate alignment of the successive rows or tiers of blocks.
The inventor named herein experimented with modifying the corrugated cardboard strip of the '384 patent to include a groove in the flat surfaces to accommodate the glass block ridge. While such modified corrugated cardboard strips eliminated some of the problems associated with using such strips in a glass block wall assembly, the strips still were not found to be that effective for anchoring the blocks in place. This was primarily due to the flexibility of the strips and to the inability of connecting the strips together to form a framework for the blocks.
It has become apparent that a different type of connector strip is needed for assembling a block wall structure utilizing glass blocks. The present invention improves on the applicant's earlier modifications to the corrugated cardboard strip of the '384 patent by providing a rigid connector strip which is formed with grooves to accommodate the glass block ridge. A fastener element also is provided to couple together adjacent segments of adjacently positioned connector strips to form a substantially rigid framework for each block which enables rows or tiers of such glass blocks to be easily and accurately aligned in place, and be firmly anchored to one another. A summary of the features applicable to the improved and novel connector strip is hereinafter set forth.